CAMPUS LAUNCH PAD

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Philippians 1:3-5 ESV “We’re all like a turtle on a fence post. We didn’t get here on our own.” Robert Hooker If you’ve been in college ministry for any amount of time you’ve got partners in the gospel like Paul writes. Or to put it another way for those who are from the sticks like me: If you’ve been in college ministry for long you know you’re like a turtle on a fencepost. Someone, or someones, helped you get to where you are now because you didn’t climb up there by yourself! Those people may be your staff, your adult volunteers; it may be key individuals or key donors. It may be some churches that have come alongside you for a particular ministry or an event. It might be the other campus ministries that are helping you reach your goal of making sure every student on your campus hears t...

Do you spend much time at the doctor’s office? If you haven’t, just wait till you have kids! And, if you are blessed with boys, expect to spend some time at the ER as well. Just saying… I have four kids and three of them are boys and our girl is a tomboy, so I’ve seen a lot of waiting rooms. Waiting rooms are all pretty much the same. They usually have two sections to divide the well from the sick and a variety of things to keep both parties entertained until their time comes to “move on” to the next room. Look around the room. There isn’t much emotion. Each person is biding his/her time until his/her time comes to move on. Now compare that with a launch pad for the space shuttle. The cockpit is swarming with activity. Ground zero is alive with clicking and talking. All parties are frantic to make sure every detail is secure. The ground crew is scurrying about making sure everything is filled up, topped off, and packed. There is an excitement and anticipation. This is a much ...

A few weeks ago I stood in front of our students at our weekly evangelism training meeting and told them I was the worst evangelist in the room.  They laughed, but I was being serious.  I turn green with jealousy when I meet people with the gift of evangelism.  You know the people I’m talking about.  You go to the grocery store with them to pick up one thing and they are like, “let’s get hot sauce and a soul!” You can’t take them anywhere without someone hearing the gospel!  That just isn’t me.  But just because I don’t have the “gift of evangelism” doesn’t mean I’m exempt from sharing the gospel.  If I’m gut-wrenchingly honest, though, when I came to my campus five years ago I was worried about my lack of experience and ability in sharing the gospel.  I wanted to lead a ministry that was unapologetically evangelistic, but we weren’t. I didn’t know how to create a culture of evangelism and I wasn’t sure on where to start. However, looking bac...

Growth in ministry is always exhilarating! Having more there than last year, starting a new small group, having to set out “overflow” seating; all of these things keep you coming back! It’s surfing the wave of chaos! But transitions can also be really hard. It’s hard moving from a “small group Bible study” to a “large group weekly meeting.” And boy, you can tell when you prepared for one and showed up at the other! It’s the same way with your student leaders and your staff. The art of leading as a single staff looks different then when you have a large student leadership team behind you. I didn’t realize this when I started in ministry. A HUGE mistake. When we began our ministry was about six students. Today we have six on staff. The dynamics are very different when you are a single staff and deeply know all five people around you to having a staff and having students leaders you don’t know very well. The transitions a growing ministry can face can damage your relationship...

Going home for the holidays can be a great season for our students.  It can also be awkward. Students who’ve been free to come and go as they please are force to succumb to curfews and the onslaught of parental questions like “where are you going?” or “who’s going to be there?”  It can be a real challenge to transition from living on your own to living back under your parents’ roof.  Not only do students have to readjust to life at home, they also must navigate being a different person spiritually than they were when they left.  Think about it.  What have you see God on your campus this semester?  Students have come to saving faith in Christ.  Students have been rescued from sin and addictions.  Students are learning to forgive and letting go of bitterness.  Many students have come from nonbelieving families and friends and are returning to those situations where college was the escape out of it.  With God doing so many wonderful thin...

“You know, I think I need to start reading my Bible everyday. It seems to really help,” one of our upperclassmen students told me after one of our retreats. “Really?” I said, trying not to let my sarcasm show through. “Yeah, after that guy spoke about how he met with God I realized that is something I need to do and it can change my walk with God.” “Interesting, have you never heard that before?” I was trying really hard to sound genuine and sincere in that question, but if I’m honest I was screaming in my head, “You’ve heard that from me almost weekly for 2 years!” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard something like that. I say “Read your Bible, pray, share your faith” they write it down, but a guest speaker says it and all of a sudden, “whoa, you know we should really read our Bibles, pray, and share our faith.” It’s amazing! One of the best things you can do for your students is to bring in outside voices, whom you trust, to speak to and train your students. Here...

I remember the first year we had the budget (and enough students) to warrant an intern. I was excited! We were now “multi-staff.” We could have staff meetings instead of me talking to myself on the way to campus! The only problem was I had no clue what I was doing. Literally, no clue. I had little direction therefore I gave little direction. And by the end of the first semester our intern was burned out, feeling overwhelmed, and unsupported. I blew it. Interns are a great way for us to shepherd the next generation of collegiate ministers. They are also great ways to multiply our ministry and the gospel footprint on our campuses. We have to get this right! Here are a few thoughts when thinking about interns and what to do with them: USE RECENT COLLEGE GRADS Might I suggest to you that it’s better to have interns who are recent college grads instead of students. Why? If you pay a student to do ministry than you have a harder time helping other students understand that ever...